Shadow, Crystal and Maria: Braving the Storm
by Blue Phoenix 12
Summary: This story takes place several years into the future. Shadow's wife is in the hospital, sick with a terrible disease, and now he and his daughter are doing their best to cope with this awful curse that is threatening their family.


Shadow the Hedgehog sat quietly in his chair, his mind clouded with unpleasant thoughts. He never really enjoyed this part of his daily routine; the environment always made him uncomfortable, as it inevitably reminded him of sickness and traumatic experiences. No matter how hard he tried, the black hedgehog could never shake these thoughts from his head while he was here. It was normal; hospitals tend to have that effect on many people, especially the people close to the patients suffering from said illnesses.

Shadow had a bad history with terrible diseases. Over seventy years ago, his only friend in the entire world suffered from a disease that was incurable at the time, and because of an unrelated and traumatic incident, she never lived to fully recover. As if losing one person important to him was not enough, the black hedgehog now found himself sitting in a hospital waiting room seven decades later, waiting to visit another of the most significant people in his life, who was also suffering from a dangerous illness.

Tired of dwelling on his negative thoughts, Shadow sighed, sat back in his seat, and turned to his left to face the person sitting next to him. This person was his 12-year-old daughter, a light gray hedgehog with dark blue eyes and quills sporting faded red highlights. The young hedgehog looked up from a piece of paper in her hands at her father as he proceeded to engage in conversation with her.

"Maria", said Shadow slowly, glancing at the paper in his daughter's hands, "what did you bring for your mother this time?"

"I made her a drawing", replied the preteen hedgehog, following her dad's example and avoiding dwelling on the negative thoughts the hospital induced in her. "It's a picture of the three of us together."

"May I see it?"

Maria handed her drawing to Shadow, who took it carefully and held it up slowly to examine it. Indeed, it was a picture of their family: a young light gray hedgehog standing between two adult hedgehogs, one black and the other white. All three hedgehogs were smiling.

The corner of Shadow's lips curled upwards as he turned back to his daughter. Handing the drawing back to the young girl, he proceeded to compliment her on her work.

"It's beautiful. Your mom will really love it."

As Maria smiled and thanked her father for his compliment, a doctor entered the waiting room, walked over to the two hedgehogs, and addressed Shadow.

"Visiting hours have started", he told the black hedgehog. "You can go in to see your wife now."

Shadow nodded once to acknowledge the words. As the doctor stepped over to another group of people in the waiting room, the black hedgehog stood up and gestured for his daughter to follow him. The two hedgehogs then made their way through the double doors at one end of the room, down the corridor beyond, and into a private hospital room near the end of the hall.

Upon stepping through the doorway, Shadow and Maria immediately turned their eyes to the single bed in the room. Lying on the bed was a white hedgehog with blue eyes, which were gazing fondly back at the two hedgehogs who had entered. This white hedgehog was one of the greatest blessings Shadow could ever have hoped to receive in his life, and her illness was one of the greatest curses.

"Hello, Crystal", said Shadow calmly, smiling at his wife despite the pain he felt at seeing her lying in a hospital bed surrounded by medical machinery.

"Hello, Shadow", the white hedgehog replied, smiling back sweetly at her husband before turning her attention to her daughter. "Hello, Maria."

Unlike Shadow, Crystal enjoyed this part of her day. To her, it was like having a window opened briefly just for her, a window which allowed her a view of the life she had waiting for her outside the walls of the hospital. At times she felt guilty for feeling the way she did about these visits, for she knew her family did not like seeing her in her present state. Still, the white hedgehog liked seeing them every day; the mere sight of them filled her with hope, and provided the strength for her to keep fighting against her disease so she could eventually join them in a normal life once again.

Maria hurried over to the bed, took a seat on the mattress beside her mother, and wrapped her arms around her. As the two hedgehogs hugged each other in silence, Shadow stepped around the bed, pulled up a chair from the side wall, and sat down. The young light gray hedgehog then released Crystal and proceeded to show her the drawing in her hand.

"I made this for you, Mom", said Maria happily as the white hedgehog took the piece of paper in her own hand.

Crystal calmly looked over her daughter's work, beaming brightly as she noticed the smiles the young girl had included in the picture. Shadow watched the two of them in silence, continuing to hide his pain behind a subtle smile of his own. His wife glanced at him briefly, and although neither of them said a word, they each understood the situation in which they currently found themselves. They were both terrified of this horrible menace that had come into their lives, but they had to be strong and hold their heads high in order to spare the person they hoped the most would never, ever be forced to endure such a scarring pain as losing a loved one; the light of their lives, their young daughter whom they loved with all their hearts, Maria Geraldine Hedgehog.

Shadow reached his hand out and took Crystal's, clasping her fingers tightly in his. He couldn't believe how much he loved her, and the very idea that he might lose her was tearing him up inside. This was their storm, and whatever it took, they would have to face it together, until the very end.

The three hedgehogs remained in the room together for nearly two hours, talking and sharing details of their day, until finally Crystal's doctor entered to let them know that visiting hours were almost over. At this, Shadow rose from his seat and requested to speak to the doctor in private for a moment. As soon as the black hedgehog disappeared out the door, Crystal turned to her daughter and began speaking to her in a serious tone.

"Maria", the white hedgehog began slowly, "while your father is gone, there's something I need to talk to you about."

Maria nodded reluctantly, concerned by her mother's tone. Noticing the sudden fear in her daughter's eyes, Crystal gently stroked the young hedgehog's cheek and continued in a slightly softer tone.

"Sweetheart... you know I've been sick for a while now, and the doctors are doing everything they can to help me get well again. Now, your father wouldn't be happy to know that I'm talking to you about this, but I realize that you're a big girl, and you're mature enough to understand exactly what's going on."

"Mom..." Maria breathed, becoming more terrified by the second. "Are you...?"

Crystal shook her head and smiled at the light gray hedgehog.

"Don't worry, honey", said the white hedgehog calmly, "I'm not saying it's my time to go. Nothing is for sure yet. But that's exactly why I want to talk to you now.

"You know your father loves you more than anything in the world. Well, if, Heaven forbid, the worst should come of this ordeal, you need to know that your father is going to put you before himself. He's going to try to be brave for you, so that you don't feel all the same pain he'll be feeling.

"Now I need you to promise me something. Promise me that, if you two should ever be forced to endure that pain, you'll make sure that your father doesn't try too hard to protect you. Promise me you'll let him know that it's OK to feel pain and sorrow, and that he doesn't need to hide this fact from you. Whatever happens, you'll be in it together, and even if I wasn't meant to stay in this life with you, you two will always have each other."

Maria stared into her mother's blue eyes in awe, trying her best to process this immense task being given her. After gazing at Crystal in silence for a moment, the young hedgehog then leaned forward, wrapped her arms around the white hedgehog, and whispered in her ear:

"I promise, Mom."

"Thank you, honey", Crystal replied gratefully, hugging her daughter back. "And I promise I'll fight as hard as I can to make sure you never have to face such great responsibility at such a young age. No girl should be forced to grow up that fast."

The two hedgehogs remained in each other's embrace for a full minute, until finally the mother of the pair released her daughter and spoke to her again in a stronger tone.

"Now, Maria, could you go find your father, please? I want to talk to him too, before you both have to leave."

Maria nodded curtly, kissed her mother on the cheek, and left the room to go find Shadow. The 12-year-old hedgehog walked to the end of the hallway, but upon reaching it, something caused her to stop in her tracks. It was the mention of her own name, being spoken by her father, whose voice was sounding from just around the corner. Taking care to keep quiet and out of sight, Maria leaned against the wall of the corridor and listened.

"Is there a chance she could become affected, too?" said Shadow, in a tone layered with deepest concern. A second voice, which Maria knew belonged to the doctor, replied somewhat calmly.

"I understand your concern, Mr. Hedgehog. Frankly, there isn't much we know about this disease yet. Studies haven't proven that it's completely genetic. What we do know is that it is treatable, and Science is making great advancements in the area of Medicine. In the future there will probably be much better alternatives to the treatment of these illnesses than there are today. So, hypothetically, if your daughter were to genetically inherit her mother's ailment, I'm sure she would find herself under excellent care."

Maria couldn't listen anymore. Drawing back into the hallway, she hesitated, then called out to her father as though she were just coming down the corridor. Shadow, who had been voicing a reply to the doctor's comments, suddenly stopped and answered his daughter's call.

"I'm here, sweetheart."

The light gray hedgehog poked her head around the corner of the hall, looked directly at Shadow, and told him that her mother wanted to speak to him. The black hedgehog nodded in response, and after thanking the doctor beside him for his time, he followed Maria back through the corridor to his wife's room.

While her mother and father shared a private conversation in the hospital room, Maria remained in the hallway outside, leaning against the wall and immersed in thought. Was there really a chance she could have inherited her mom's disease? Years from now, would she and Shadow be forced to endure this nightmare all over again? The 12-year-old hedgehog couldn't bear to think of putting her dad through this torture another time in his life; she hated the very idea that he was thinking about this too, and she wished like mad that she hadn't overheard his conversation with the doctor fifteen minutes ago.

Now, as these awful thoughts clouded her already troubled mind, Maria raised her arm to her eyes and wiped away the tears welling up in them before they fell. She remained in her place, fighting back her tears, until the door to her mother's room finally opened again, and her father's face appeared in the doorway. Shadow beckoned his daughter into the room, where they both bid Crystal goodbye one last time before leaving the hospital and returning home.

That night, Shadow lay awake in his bed, staring solemnly to his left at the empty space on the king-size mattress that was normally occupied by his wife. Crystal's words insisted on repeating themselves continuously in his head. While speaking to him in private just before he left, the white hedgehog had told her husband that her diaries were being kept in an antique armoire in her study, with the exception of the most recent, which instead was on her nightstand. Crystal had told Shadow that these diaries were allowed to be read by him shortly after she passed away, regardless of whatever time that may be.

Now, as he stared blankly towards the other side of the bed, the black hedgehog shifted his gaze slightly upwards to glance at the small book lying innocently on his wife's nightstand. He felt a knot beginning to form in his throat at the very sight of that book, and he silently prayed that he wouldn't be leafing through its pages any time in the near future.

After staring at his wife's diary for a few minutes, Shadow was suddenly brought back to reality by a small noise at his bedroom door. Turning to face the entrance into the room, the black hedgehog noticed his daughter standing silently in the open doorway, wearing a nightgown and an expression of suppressed sadness.

"Daddy..."

Something was wrong; Shadow knew it, not by the sad tone in which Maria had spoken the name, but by the name itself. For the past year, she had been gradually growing out of calling him "Daddy", instead switching to the slightly more formal name "Dad". The young light gray hedgehog now rarely referred to him by the original name she had for him as a child... except at times when she was feeling particularly overwhelmed by an emotion.

Realizing that his daughter must be feeling just as scared as he was about their situation, Shadow gazed softly at Maria, then lifted the covers off the empty side of his bed and gestured for her to join him on it.

"Come here, princess", said the black hedgehog kindly, and Maria immediately hurried over to the large bed and leapt onto the mattress by her father's side.

The two hedgehogs spent that night in each other's embrace. Though neither of them spoke a word, they each felt comforted by the other's presence. Shadow and Maria clearly refused to dwell on the subject of Crystal's illness, and as much as each of them knew that the other was thinking about it, they both found that, by seeking comfort in one another's arms, the fear they felt over the ordeal seemed to diminish significantly. It was the closest moment the father and daughter had shared in a long time.

The weeks continued to pass, and the Hedgehogs were doing their best to endure the frightening curse that was Crystal's disease. The white hedgehog was clearly fighting hard to keep from succumbing to her dreadful illness and leaving her family to live on without her. She seemed to be progressing well in her treatment... but the real results of her struggle against the disease would only come six weeks after the day she shared private conversations with her husband and daughter, six weeks in which the three hedgehogs would simply pray that the victor of this battle would be Crystal, and the awful curse would be vanquished for good.

A month and a half after overhearing her father discussing her own health with her mother's doctor, Maria found herself sitting once again beside Shadow in the hospital waiting room. For weeks, the two hedgehogs had come every day to the same room, always at the same time of day. What made today different from all the other visiting days was the fact that Crystal had undergone her final exam last night, and now Shadow and Maria were waiting to hear the results from the doctor. These results, they both knew, would tell them whether the white hedgehog had conquered the illness... or it would conquer her.

Shadow could not stop fidgeting in his chair. He had never felt so nervous in his life. Within minutes, he would be learning exactly what would be the fate of his wife, and consequently that of his daughter and himself. This idea terrified him to his very core. Up until today, the black hedgehog had been avoiding such ideas as living without Crystal and raising Maria alone, but the longer the minutes dragged by, the more these awful thoughts seemed to shroud and darken his mind.

Unwilling to let his daughter see him in a state of distress, Shadow turned to Maria and spoke to her in as calm a voice as he could manage at that point:

"Sweetheart, could you go and get me some water, please?"

Maria gazed back at her father with a subtle sympathetic look; she obviously understood exactly why he was sending her away. Still, the light gray hedgehog obeyed, nodding once to Shadow and rising to her feet. She then made her way towards the water cooler in the next hallway, disappearing around the corner within seconds and leaving her dad in the waiting room with his thoughts.

As soon as the 12-year-old hedgehog was out of sight, Shadow took advantage of her absence to glance upward pleadingly and begin muttering desperately under his breath. The addressee of his plea was his daughter's namesake: his beloved friend who had suffered a terrible illness and had sacrificed her own life to save his so many years ago.

"Maria", Shadow whispered frantically, "I need you now more than ever. Please, don't let my wife or daughter be taken by this awful curse. Don't let them suffer the way you had to suffer, the way _I_ had to suffer. Losing you was already too painful for me to bear. I could barely face life without you before these two blessings came to me; how can I face life without Crystal and Maria too?"

A knot was returning to Shadow's throat, and he couldn't speak anymore. Instead, he simply bowed his head over his folded hands, his forehead touching his fingers. The most he could do now was silently pray until he was brought back to reality once more by the doctor arriving to give him Crystal's exam results, which wouldn't be very long from now.

Meanwhile, Maria was standing alone in the next hallway, filling a small plastic cup with water from a water cooler. As she blankly watched the liquid slowly trickling into the cup in her hand, the young hedgehog felt her heart racing with anticipation. What would happen to her mother? How would her father react if the news from the doctor was bad? Would he try to conceal his pain from her, like her mother had said he would?

Maria suddenly found herself wondering what would become of her if she and Shadow were left alone in the world together. She recalled the encouraging words Crystal had spoken to her six weeks ago:

"Whatever happens, you'll be in it together, and even if I wasn't meant to stay in this life with you, you two will always have each other."

But would they really? Shadow hardly ever spent any time at home; he was almost always preoccupied with some confidential mission for G.U.N. As much as she wanted to believe those words of encouragement, Maria could not shake the feeling that, if the worst were to happen to her mother, she would be on her own, at least for the most part. This thought was so horribly depressing that it actually chilled the young hedgehog inside. She wanted to be closer to her father, more than anything, but there was the very real possibility that he couldn't be there for her when she needed him most. She would be left alone, all alone...

Maria was so deep in thought that she almost didn't notice when the plastic cup in her hand was completely filled with water. Recovering her senses just in time to keep the cup from overflowing, the light gray hedgehog ceased retrieving the water and began making her way back to the waiting room to fulfill her father's request.

As soon as she turned the corner, however, Maria saw that Shadow was on his feet facing someone standing in front of him: Crystal's doctor. The doctor was holding some charts in his right arm, and he seemed to be speaking to Shadow in a serious tone. The young hedgehog couldn't hear what he was saying, but she didn't dare come within earshot of the conversation, for fear that she would hear yet another unpleasant piece of information.

Instead, Maria stayed rooted to the spot by the corridor, carefully watching the black hedgehog's expression. At first, Shadow simply kept a straight face while listening intently to the doctor's words... then, suddenly, his eyes widened, and he slowly placed a hand over his mouth. The next thing the light gray hedgehog knew, her father was standing trembling with his head bowed and his hand over his face. On his left cheek, only just visible to his daughter standing several feet away, a tear was falling.

An icy chill ran through Maria's insides at the sight of that tear. All the terrible thoughts that had crossed her mind over the past several months came rushing back to her at once. She was sure that the doctor had come with bad news about her mother's health; Crystal would not surpass this cursed obstacle, their family's future would be shrouded in darkness...

And then, suddenly, a light shone through the darkness Maria was seeing before her. Shadow suddenly turned to face the young hedgehog, and upon looking at his face completely, she noticed an enlightening detail on his features that she hadn't before: a smile. The black hedgehog held his arms out to his daughter and called to her:

"Maria! Your mother is going to be fine!"

At these words, Maria felt all the dreadful thoughts and sorrow in her mind melt away instantly. For a moment, she simply stared silently at her father, too stunned to react to the news just yet. Then, as the realization of Shadow's words began to sink in completely, the young hedgehog subconsciously loosened her grip on the plastic cup in her hand. The cup slipped through her fingers and fell to the floor, water spilling across the white tiles. Maria then cried out excitedly and ran over to her father, throwing herself into his outstretched arms and tightly hugging him back.

Shadow and Maria remained locked in each other's embrace for Heaven only knew how long, tears spilling rapidly down both their cheeks. In that moment, the light gray hedgehog truly understood what her mother had meant: that regardless of what happened in their lives, she and her father would face it together, and they would always have each other. Maria believed in those words now, feeling closer to her father than she ever had before. It was a moment she would remember for the rest of her life.

Shadow held his daughter tight, still trembling with immense exhilaration and relief. Looking up slightly, the black hedgehog could have sworn he caught sight of the faint outline of a young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes standing before him: the spirit of his beloved friend, Maria Robotnik. Smiling kindly at her, Shadow silently thanked the angel for helping him and his family in their survival of this ordeal, in which he knew she must have had some part. Maria reciprocated her friend's sweet smile, then vanished, leaving Shadow to embrace his daughter in peace and happiness.

The curse of the illness was gone. Their storm was over, and in the light that now shone through the dark lay the promise of a bright and happy future for Shadow, Crystal and Maria Hedgehog.


End file.
